5 Best Metronomes for Drummers

Updated: August 15th, 2022

Imagine for a second that your favourite rock band is playing live on stage in front of you. What do you hear once you stop looking at the song as a whole, but rather as a sum of its parts?

Every band member and every instrument has a task which they need to take care of on top of being creative and interacting with the audience. When it comes to drummers, it’s their job to keep the rest of the band on beat and within the correct tempo.

Time is an important factor in music, so keeping every band member in the same tempo is essential to a good sound. This is why a lot of drummers like to use metronomes during their practice but also during live performances.

Having that click in your ear gives you a reference point that builds your natural sense of rhythm. There are many different metronomes on the market, but we have chosen 5 best metronomes for drummers.

This article is what we consider to be great contestants. Criteria used was more or less centred around the performance and the ease of use in the practise room.

Best Metronomes for Drummers

1.BOSS DB-90

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Boss is a well-known brand when it comes to digital accessories for any number of musical instruments. The BOSS DB-90 is a top entry level product when it comes to metronomes.If you want one of the absolutebest pieces of hardware,this is what you go for.

Features and Performance

Aside from offering a wide range of supported BPMs (beats per minute), you also get to choose a number of different click sounds.There are four different click patterns available, as well as human voice countdown. I found that being able to adjust click tone really helps with certain environments. (Home practise, live show, band rehearsals etc.)

On top of this, BOSS DB-90 offers a great integration of MIDI features such as beat programming and more. Drummers can connect to the DB-90 via Roland V-Pads or the internal microphone.This stage-oriented feature is especially useful for drummers.This is by far one of the more expensive digital metronomes you can get, but it’s worth the money since it’s, in our humble opinion, one of the best metronomes for drummers period.

2.BOSS DB-30

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We have another Boss model metronome product that we will cover.It represents a much simpler option that is also a lot more affordable than It’s more expensive counterpart. This compact metronome is light, easy to use, and is definitely something you can keep in your gig bag.

Features and Performance

The design and features of the Boss DB-30is a pretty basic piece of work and is made of plastics. A large portion of the top panel is mostly covered by a simple LCD screen with an easy-to-understand layout. The controls are exactly what you expect them to be, and you don’t have to worry about complexity when you need to adjust something on the go.

In terms of performance, Boss DB-30brings a good, uncomplicated experience. You can use up to 17 beats per measure, and the metronome comes with pre-programmed beat patterns that are based on a number of different music styles. (Not essential but still could come in handy)

Whether or not this is something you would want to use in a professional setting is up for debate. However, with a fairly good volume output and clinical precision, you could easily go through a gig using this metronome for click patterns. (I have a few times before in small show venues and an outdoor venue, with wind… the wind was horrible, the click… was not!)

3.KORG MA1RD

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Korgactually have some great entry-level metronomes! This specific Korg MA1RD comes at a price which makes it a bargain. It includes all the features you would want to see on a drummer’s metronome. Even though it’s not really made specifically for drumming, the Korg MA1RD is a great piece of equipment to add to your gear list!

Features and Performance

The form fact of this metronome is pretty compact. It looks more like one of those affordable guitar tuners than anything else. This is great if you need something to stick in your gig bag and take with you on tours. Build quality is great, but you probably don’t want to drop this thing too many times.

The performance of the Korg MA1RD is somewhat limited but still very usable. Controls are intuitive and so is the small display on the front of the unit. You can monitor your number of beats, tempo ( which goes from 30 to 252 BPM), and many more things. There are multiple beats and patterns to choose from, and the tempo can be adjusted by type as well. For this kind of money, you probably won’t get anything much better than this.

4.Seiko SQ200 Multi-Function Digital Metronome

 

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This model from Seiko is equally portable as the Korg model above, both compact and lightweight enough to easily fit in your stick bag or drum case, but gives you an expanded range of features over your basic value tuner.

While you will have to pay a bit more for these capabilities, it is one of the most convenient and affordable programmable tuners you can find.

Features and Performance

This metronome gives you as wide a range of tempos as any on the market, from as slow as 1bpm to as many as 300bpm. To go along with this, you also get 7 different subdivision options, and beat accenting from 1 to 9.

In combination, you can use these to create very sophisticated and complex rhythmic patterns, perfect for drummers working on perfecting their subdivision accuracy or working in mixed meter or compound meter. 

Once you find the right rhythmic combination, you can also save it to reference later. You can store up to three different combinations of tempo, accents, and subdivision, which can save you a lot of time in the practice room.

Drummers will also love the easy one-hand operation and the large screen that can let you easily see the beat as well as hearing it. 

5.    TAMA RW200 Rhythm Watch

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I love this bad boy! I personally own the TAMA RW200 and have been using it for live performances for just under two years now and still going strong! (I may be a bit biased about this one but how can I not be! There’s a reason I bought it)

The TAMA RW200 Is very compact yet super functional for both practising and performing. It has up to 30 programable scenes which you can save and switch through at will! (Very convenient for cueing clicks for a show)

This is an excellent metronome that has everything you need, including a backup memory that remembers your settings,different click tonalities, the possibility of switching between saved scenes are truly awesome andis very high quality for a reasonable price! We like it!

What Makes the Best Metronome for Drummers?

Developing that sense of timing takes a lot of skill and practice, despite what some people might think. Finding a drummer who can play a flat tempo for any period of time is much more valuable than having one who performs mad transitions.

When all is said and done, it must be pointed out that it is absolutely vital for any drummer metronome to feature a Headphones Out and be audible to the player over the drums. Without that, all the other features are rendered useless.

In all essence, finding a good metronome is essential to tempo awareness and experience. This goes for all instruments, not just drums. All of the metronomes we have shown you here are suitable for just about any application you have in mind and are definitely good for drummers. All of these offer good performance and meet our modest requirements. We fully believe these are the best metronomes for drummers in their respective price ranges. Good luck!